TooSpooky.com

I narrated this for my channel's Halloween episode, but decided to post it here a couple days early. I'll post the video on here when it goes live on Halloween.

Last Halloween, I had set up for my usual tradition of handing out candy to trick 'r treaters. Two huge bags of candy filled two equally sizable bowls set upon a TV tray next to my front door. As the sun began to set, costumed children took to the streets, the younger ones accompanied by parents. I lived in a relatively small town, but there was no shortage of little ghouls and witches on the street. My neighborhood had a reputation as a rich vein of sugary goodies,so early on in the evening it almost wasn't worth it to sit down. Once you did, the doorbell was sure to ring again and a little vampire or superhero would be looking for their treat. There's a motion sensor light on my front porch that seemed to be on constantly throughout the night. As the night went on, the visits became less and less frequent and the visitors became older. Young teens who were out of eggs and toilet paper took to gathering up their share of candy before houses ran out of supply.

It was nearly 10:00 when a group of four boys came to my door, calling out “trick 'r treat!” in between laughing at some inside joke. I couldn't see their faces, but they couldn't have been more than 13 or 14 years old. They each wore store bought masks, which likely functioned more as disguises for their mischief than for a festive spirit. One was dressed up as Ghostface from the Scream movies. Another wore a bestial werewolf mask with a button down plaid shirt and jeans. The next wore a grotesque zombie mask and his clothes had been intentionally stained and dirtied. Finally, the last wore one of those skin tight, white spandex masks and black clothing. They each held out book bags and I smiled as I dropped two party-sized pieces of candy into them. They took off at a jog down the street, shouting their thanks as they hurried off.

Traffic at my door ceased midway through the 10:00 hour and I figured it was about time to douse the light of my Jack o' lantern. As I reached for the doorknob, the bell rang. I hadn't noticed the sound of anyone walking up my porch, so I was somewhat startled by the sound, but quickly recovered and pulled open the door while reaching for the candy bowl. “Trick 'r treat!” called the four boys whom I recognized from before. A corner of my mouth turned up in a wry grin as I stepped out onto the porch and said, “I normally don't give out seconds.” The four boys stood unresponsive, holding their book bags out, waiting. I snorted and dropped another piece of candy in each of their bags. “You're lucky things are winding down. Happy Halloween, boys.” I leaned over to the glowing pumpkin sitting on the ledge of my porch and blew out sharply to kill the light. A trio of police cars raced by, lights and sirens cutting through the dark, peaceful night. Watching the emergency vehicles speed down the street, I told the teens, “Be careful out there, people can get crazy with their pranks.” When the blue and red flashing was out of sight, I gave the boys a nod, shut the door, and locked it.

I took the mostly depleted candy bowls and dumped the remnants into a small, glass dish on my dining room table. Continuing on to the kitchen, I washed my hands in the sink and grabbed a beer from the fridge. After returning to the front room, I plopped down on the couch to relax and catch a couple horror movies before the Halloween TV season ended. Sipping at my beer, I watched Micheal Myers stalk and slash around Haddonfield. I must have dozed off because it was just after 11:30 when my doorbell ringing jolted me awake. The haze of sleep was still heavy in my head and I quickly stood and made for the door. It didn't occur to me how strange it was to have someone showing up this late, even on Halloween. Rubbing the focus back into my eyes, I opened my front door. “Trick 'r treat!” It was the same four boys. They stood in the same position as the previous two visits, holding their arms out and their book bags open.

A seed of panic took root in my throat and I tried to swallow it down. What were they up to? Mischief on Halloween is of course a common thing, but this seemed out of the ordinary. Why wouldn't they say anything else? Why wouldn't they move? I steeled my gaze and put on my best responsible adult voice. “Listen, guys, I already gave you candy twice and I'm all out anyway. It's late, go home, don't make me call the cops.” Closing the door with just enough force to emphasize my point, I listened for a moment, half-expecting to hear a couple dozen eggs break against my house. Only silence followed. The unintentional nap had left me wide awake now, so I settled back in with the TV and another beer.

Michael Myers was well into his rampage in the sequel when I finished my second drink. As I tipped the bottle way back, I noticed something in my peripheral vision. I almost didn't catch it, but because I did, that panic started to work it's way back up my esophagus. Through the curtains, outside the bay window, I could see that my porch light was still on. It's motion activated; it only turns on if something breaks its sensor line. The only way for it to be on was for someone to be on my porch. I stood up slowly, my mouth going dry. As stealthily as possible, I moved to the window and attempted to pull the curtains aside just enough for me to see out. It was a somewhat difficult angle, but I was certain I could see the black material of a Ghostface costume on the porch. Again, I attempted to quietly move to the door, leaning to look through the peephole.

“Trick 'r treat!” They were all still there. The four of them stood there, not moving, arms stuck out holding their open book bags. Pulling back from the peephole, I reached for my cell phone in my pocket. These kids hadn't done anything malicious, not yet at least, but I didn't need them messing with me like this. The last thing I wanted to do was go to bed with four teenage boys that I didn't know hanging out on my porch. There's a point when pranks go too far and they had crossed it. I dialed 911 and the dispatcher answered, inquiring about my emergency. “Hi, I have four boys who have been coming to my door all night after being asked to stop. They're acting really weird and won't leave. Would it be possible to have someone come by and get them out of here?” “We'll get someone to you as soon as we can, sir,” the dispatcher replied, sounding tired. “I'm sorry but our officers are spread thin tonight, so it may be a bit until someone can come. We're dealing with a situation. If they start doing anything threatening, call back and we'll send someone right away.” I didn't like the answer, but accepted it. I gave my name and address before hanging up.

With a sigh of frustration, I set my phone on the tray the candy bowls had previously occupied, and turned the doorknob. I swung the door open quickly, but the four of them didn't react. They still just stood there, waiting for their candy, not moving. I couldn't see their eyes, but I could feel them on me through the material of their masks. It was tough to tell, but it was almost like they weren't breathing. I didn't take the time to think about this in my anger. Instead, I snapped, “I called the cops, guys, you'd better get out of here now.” I slammed the door hard, not waiting for a response and hoping that was enough to scare them away. It occurred to me then that it was probably really stupid to open the door at that point and I gave an involuntary shake when I considered what could have happened if they tried to get in. A pit formed in my chest at the prospect of a very real danger standing on the other side of my door. I double checked that my lock was secure and went back to the kitchen.

Another beer sounded great, but I opted to leave it in the fridge in favor of keeping my head as clear as possible. Instead, I went to the knife block on the counter and extracted the chef's knife. My stomach turned over several times at the faintest thought of having to use this to defend myself, especially against a group of 13 year olds. It was security, though, and the only protection I could think of if they tried something. I hoped that it would be more intimidating than anything and would lead them to think twice about continuing their prank further. After taking a deep, centering breath, I returned to the front room and sat down, keeping the knife within arms reach. I flipped through the channels, my interest in horror movies having left me by that point. I found a censored version of Caddyshack and settled on that. I couldn't help but keep glancing at the window to see if the porch light was still on and would promptly look back to the TV when I saw that it was. It was nearly 1:30AM when my eyes finally got too heavy to keep open.

When I awoke I instinctively grabbed for the knife assuming I was surrounded by four costumed teens ready to carry out the next stage of their sick joke. Seeing that I was alone, I gathered my senses. It was almost 3:00AM according to the clock on the wall. Once I had blinked enough to clear my vision, I turned to the window. It was dark, save for the street light. My porch light was out. I let out a breath of relief; they must have gone. There was no way they could have turned off the motion light on their own without a ladder. I set the knife down, now feeling somewhat silly over getting this worked up about kids playing tricks on Halloween. I patted my pockets and looked around the room for my cell phone. I remembered leaving it by the front door. I walked over and found it on the tray where I had left it. The blinking light notified me that there was a new text. It was unusual for me to get text messages this late, so I started to check it as I turned from the door.

“Trick 'r treat!” I heard four voices call from the other side of the entrance. I froze mid-step and nearly dropped my phone, doing my best to stifle a scream. Did I really just hear that? Or was my sleepy brain playing tricks on me? I slowly turned and leaned to the peep hole. They were still there. They were in the dark now, I could only see their silhouettes from the light cast by the street lamps, but they were still there. They remained in the same position as before with their arms held out begging for more candy. They didn't move, not an inch. They just stood there. I threw myself back from the peep hole with a gasp. What the hell was the matter with these kids? There was no way I was opening the door again this time. Continuing to back away from the door, I found my way back to my knife on the front room table. I picked it up and remembered my phone in the other hand.

Intending to call 911, something caught my eye when I unlocked the screen. The text message I had received was from my sister, who lived on the other side of town. I wasn't going to read the text, but then I happened to notice a few of the words. She had been on the way home from a Halloween party when she asked me about what happened a few blocks up the street from me. Apparently everyone was talking about it in a Facebook group for locals. Someone had lost it and started shooting at trick 'r treaters shortly after 10:00. Almost every on duty police officer was on the scene dealing with the shooter and the aftermath. There were four victims. Four teenage boys. I set the knife back down and returned to the the front door. I opened it. No one was there.

Title: Re: Trick
Post by: TheHauntCollection on 01:20:37 AM 11/01/17

Here's my narration of it, like I mentioned.

Title: Re: Trick
Post by: Rivers on 03:20:23 PM 01/01/18

Nice little Halloween tale. Shame I only got around to reading it now!

What I like most about this is the authors obligated action of sticking to this seasonal social contract and the weird/spooks arises from those that subvert it.